Gmail 2.0 comes to iOS with new design, added features

Google unveiled a redesigned Gmail app for iPhone and iPad today, promising a faster, sleeker experience and a bunch of new features. Says the company:

"With version 2.0 of the app, you'll get a totally new look and feel, plus a bunch of improvements like profile pictures in messages, numerous new animations from swivels to transitions and infinite scrolling in the message lists.

In addition, the updated app offers "many new time-saving features," Google said. "For example, when you search, autocomplete predictions will appear as you type, shaving off precious seconds (and typos). Plus, you can RSVP to Google Calendar invites as well as +1 and comment on Google+ posts directly from the app."

Gmail 2.0 for iOS also now supports multiple accounts: "You can now login to up to five Google Accounts from the menu and switch between them with a couple taps."

Google says the new version of Gmail has been in the works for six months. In July the company purchased Sparrow, a popular Gmail client for iOS, and said the team would be put to work on improving its iOS app.

You can download the app here. There have been widespread reports of the app refusing to update for people who have already downloaded it; CNET has contacted Google for comment and will update this post when we hear back. In the meantime, users can delete the app from their phone or tablet and install a fresh copy from the App Store,

Gmail for iOS got off to a notoriously rocky start when it launched in November 2011. Notifications didn't work and users opening the app for the first time got an error message. Google wound up pulling Gmail from the App Store three hours after it launched. It returned five days later with the bugs fixed.